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cappp (1822388) writes "Britons are not getting the broadband services they are being sold — Ofcom's analysis of broadband speeds in the UK shows that, for some services, 97% of consumers do not get the advertised speed. It also shows a growing gap between the claims ISPs make for broadband and the speed being delivered.

The regulator's survey shows that the average residential broadband speed in the UK has risen in the last 12 months from 4.1Megabits per second (Mbps) to 5.2Mbps. The report also revealed the changing nature of UK broadband. Now 65% of UK homes have fixed line broadband and 24% of those users are on services sold as being able to support 10Mbps or more. By contrast in April 2009, only 8% of homes had signed up for such a service. In 2009, he said, when actual speeds for broadband were 4.1mbps, the average that those services were being advertised for stood at 7.1Mbps. In 2010, when people are generally getting 5.2Mbps out of their broadband, ISPs are claiming they will support speeds up to 11.5Mbps.

The survey found that on DSL services advertised as being "up to" 20Mbps only 2% of customers got speeds in the range of 14-20Mbps. Of the others, 32% were getting a 8-14Mbps service and 65%, 8Mbps or less. In an attempt to improve how broadband is sold, Ofcom has been pushing ISPs to adopt a new code of practice, which will mean consumers get more information about speed as they sign up for a new provider. The code is due to come in over the next 12 months and all the UK's larger ISPs have signed up for it."Link to Original Source